The Morality Of Oil, Ctd

Existing fuel prices do nowhere near enough to price in the
externalities of oil consumption on the environment and human health.
(Lisa Margonelli tells Ezra Klein:
"The American Lung Association estimated that every gallon of gas costs
us 50 cents in the asthma rate for children. You have the greenhouse
gas question, leakage, spills, explosion, cancer risk from benzene,
economic risk from the volatility of the prices, the military cost, and
we do not account for all this.") But one can expect that investors'
and insurers' reactions to the discovery that they are effectively on
the hook for many billions of dollars in case of a deep-sea blowout
will help to price in some of that risk.

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